Obama’s 90 Day Housing Foreclosure Moratorium Is a Beginning

We’ve finally heard something we can believe in! Today, in wake of the U.S. housing crisis, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama called for a 90 day national moratorium on foreclosures. He presented this proposal as part of a four-part ‘economic rescue plan’ for middle-class homeowners, according to CNN.

MWRO, along with other groups in Michigan, (particularly, Moratorium Now!,) has also called for a national moratorium on home foreclosures. In Detroit and across the state, thousands of families have lost their homes while national and foreign banks eagerly sought new buyers on the belief that everyone could get rich off of the sufferings of others.

A 90 day moratorium on home foreclosures is a good start and we commend Senator Obama for his proposal but it is not enough! Low-income seniors and families in Michigan and across this country are struggling to survive on a variety of fronts such as housing, jobs, utilities, and food, along with other basic needs and human rights. Foreign wars and defense budgets have drained local communities and states of the resources they need to help us stave off desperation and protect our families.

(Image: August 2008, Lansing–Detroit residents and Moratorium Now! coalition members rally at the Michigan State Capitol Building in support of a moratorium on housing foreclosures with Senate Bill 1306. Photo courtesy of Daymon J. Hartley.